IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO

EASTERN DIVISION

NetJets Large Aircraft, Inc., :

et al.,

 :

Plaintiffs, 

 :

v. Case No. 2:11-cv-1023

 :

 JUDGE EDMUND A. SARGUS, JR.

United States of America, : Magistrate Judge Kemp

Defendant. :

OPINION AND ORDER

Plaintiffs, companies that provide aircraft management and

aviation support services to aircraft owners and leaseholders

(with whole and/or fractional interests in the aircrafts), filed

this action against the United States under the Internal Revenue

Code, 26 U.S.C. §4261, for refund and abatement of excise taxes,

interest and penalties. A number of motions have been filed

involving issues that have arisen during discovery. Plaintiffs

have moved to compel production of documents (Doc. 45) and to

compel depositions (Doc. 46). The United States has moved for a

protective order (Doc. 51) and for an enlargement of time to

complete discovery and to file motions for summary judgment

(Docs. 48 & 60). This Opinion and Order resolves all of those

motions. 

I. Background

Plaintiffs are companies which provide management services

to people and companies that own or lease either whole aircrafts

or fractional interests in aircrafts. A fractionally owned

aircraft is one owned by multiple persons, each of whom owns a

specified share of the aircraft. Plaintiffs state that they

offer services including assistance with filings, aircraft

inspection, maintenance, service, repair, overhaul, and testing. 

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The owners and fractional owners pay monthly management fees in a

fixed amount that does not vary based on the owner’s aircraft use

and also pay certain variable fees or hourly fees that depend on

usage. 

The United States imposes a tax on amounts paid for taxable

transportation, which Plaintiffs refer to as a ticket tax. 26

U.S.C. §§ 4261(a) & 4262. The person or entity receiving payment

for taxable transportation is the one responsible for collecting

the tax from the payor. In 1958, the United States issued

Revenue Ruling 58-215, which included the following language: 

Where a corporation owns an aircraft an appoints an

airline company as its agent to service, maintain,

overhaul, and operate such aircraft for the purpose of

transporting the corporation’s personnel, the airline

company is not furnishing transportation service to

such corporation within the purview of section 4261 of

the Internal Revenue Code of 1954. Therefore, amounts

paid for such services are not subject to the tax on

transportation of persons. 

(Doc. 22 at ¶41 and Answer to ¶41). 

At some point, companies such as Executive Jet Aviation,

Inc., the predecessor of one or more of the Plaintiffs, began

facilitating fractional ownership of aircrafts. In 1992 the IRS

issued a Technical Advice Memorandum (“TAM”) to Executive Jet

Aviation, Inc. as part of an audit. That TAM decided that only

the “occupied hourly fee” charged by Executive Jet Aviation was

subject to the section 4261 tax. In 1998, the Federal Circuit

Court of Appeals considered and decided a case addressing the

issue of whether amounts paid by fractional owners to fractional

aircraft management companies are subject to the tax imposed by

section 4261(a). In Executive Jet Aviation, Inc. v. United

States, 125 F.3d 1463 (Fed. Cir. 1998), the court held that the

occupied hourly fees that fractional management companies

received from fractional owners were subject to the tax imposed

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by section 4261(a). Plaintiffs contend that the fundamental

premise of the Executive Jet decision was that fractional

ownership was not a bona fide economic arrangement. 

In 2003, the Federal Aviation Administration promulgated the

first regulations that specifically addressed fractional

ownership of aircrafts. Plaintiffs contend that “the new

[regulations] – which have the effect of law – expressly

recognize fractional ownership as a bona fide form of ownership,

and also require that fractional owners enter into the very

management and dry-lease agreements that fractional owners enter

into with the NetJets entities.” (Doc. 22 at ¶51). 

In 2010, the Examination Division of the IRS proposed

assessments, along with penalties and interest on each of the

assessments, of the section 4261(a) tax on the monthly management

fees and fuel variable surcharges for tax periods spanning four

to six years for the various Plaintiffs. (Doc. 22 at ¶57 &

Answer to ¶57). The IRS already was of the view that Plaintiffs

were obliged to collect and remit taxes imposed by section

4261(a) on the occupied hourly fees. Plaintiffs filed protests

with the IRS, which were denied, and refund claims with the IRS,

which were also denied. Plaintiffs then brought this action

seeking a refund and abatement of all section 4261(a) taxes paid

on occupied hourly fees, monthly management fees, fuel variable

surcharges, and pass through costs.

II. Analysis

A. Scope of Discovery

With the exception of the motions for enlargement of time,

all of the motions at issue address the proper scope of

discovery. The general principles involving the proper scope of

discovery are well known. The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure

provide that “[u]nless otherwise limited by court order, the

scope of discovery is as follows: Parties may obtain discovery

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regarding any nonprivileged matter that is relevant to any

party's claim or defense--including the existence, description,

nature, custody, condition, and location of any documents or

other tangible things and the identity and location of persons

who know of any discoverable matter.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(1). 

Any matter that is relevant, in the sense that it reasonably may

lead to the discovery of admissible evidence, and is not

privileged, can be discovered. “Relevant information need not be

admissible at the trial if the discovery appears reasonably

calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence.” 

Fed. R. Civ. P. 26. Furthermore, upon a showing of good cause,

the Court may permit broader discovery of matters “relevant to

the subject matter involved in the action.” Id.

On the other hand, courts have discretion to limit or even

preclude discovery which meets the general standard of relevance

found in Rule 26(b)(1) if the discovery is unreasonably

duplicative, or the burden of providing discovery outweighs the

benefits, taking into account factors such as the importance of

the requested discovery in resolving the issues, the importance

of the issues at stake in the action, the amount in controversy,

and the parties' resources. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(2). 

As is more fully explained below, Plaintiffs have sought to

discover a fair amount of information about how the IRS has

interpreted and applied the section of the Internal Revenue Code

at issue in this case. The United States argues that almost all

of this discovery falls outside the proper scope of discovery

described in Rule 26. According to the United States, the

question of whether the IRS properly levied taxes against

Plaintiffs under 26 U.S.C. §4261 will be decided by the Court de

novo and any discovery into IRS deliberations about how that

section is or should be applied are simply irrelevant. 

Plaintiffs counter that the United States’ argument addresses

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only the first of Plaintiffs’ four theories for recovery – that

§4261 does not, as a matter of law, apply to the fees which the

IRS has attempted to tax – and that the information they seek is

relevant to the other three theories they advance. 

Plaintiffs have sought relief in this case on four grounds –

that: 

(1) Plaintiffs do not provide “taxable transportation”

under 26 U.S.C. §4261, and thus the payments Plaintiffs

receive from aircraft owners are not subject to the

section 4261 excise tax; 

(2) The IRS failed to provide clear guidance to

Plaintiffs that they were required to collect and remit

the section 4261 excise tax on the monthly management

and fuel variable surcharge fees they received from

aircraft owners; 

(3) The IRS violated its duty to treat similar

taxpayers in a consistent manner because it has

assessed the section 4261 excise tax against certain of

the fees that Plaintiffs charge fractional aircraft

owners while not assessing the tax against those same

fees with respect to certain of Plaintiffs’

competitors; and 

(4) The IRS is legally bound by a Technical Advice

Memorandum (“TAM”) it issued to Plaintiffs’

predecessor, Executive Jet Aviation, in 1992, which

provides that only the occupied hourly fees paid by

fractional aircraft owners, and not monthly management

or fuel variable surcharge fees, constitute payments

for “taxable transportation” under 26 U.S.C. §4261. 

Under applicable Treasury regulations, as well as the

IRS’s own internal guidelines, the IRS is bound by the

1992 TAM until such time as the IRS issues Plaintiffs

another TAM modifying or replacing the one from 1992. 

The IRS has never issued such a subsequent TAM, and

thus its assessment of the section 4261 tax against

Plaintiffs’ monthly management and fuel variable

surcharge fees, in violation of Treasury regulations

and IRS guidelines, was unlawful. 

(Doc. 55 at 8-9; see also Doc. 45 at 2 (listing same factors in a

different order)). Because the discovery motions turn, in large

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part, on the parties’ arguments regarding these four theories,

the Court will discuss each theory in turn. 

It seems clear that if Plaintiffs were only proceeding under

their first theory, they would not need most of the discovery

being sought in the motions to compel. However, Plaintiffs argue

that even if the Court determines that Plaintiffs are subject to

the section 4261 excise tax as a matter of law, they still would

be entitled to a refund and other damages because the IRS could

not properly enforce the tax against Plaintiffs if any of the

remaining three theories have merit. 

Plaintiffs’ second theory – that the IRS could not apply a

tax to a collector such as Plaintiffs unless it provided clear

guidance to the Plaintiffs that they were required to collect the

tax – raises the question of whether Plaintiffs had sufficient

notice of a duty to collect. Plaintiffs’ notice theory is based

primarily upon the Supreme Court’s decision in Central Illinois

Public Service Co. v. United States, 435 U.S. 21 (1978). In that

case, the question was whether lunch reimbursements of employees

by the employer constituted “wages” within the withholding

provisions of the statutes; if so, the employer was required to

withhold federal income tax on those reimbursements. The Court

held that “[b]ecause the employer is in a secondary position as

to liability for any tax of the employee, it is a matter of

obvious concern that, absent further specific congressional

action, the employer’s obligation to withhold be precise and not

speculative.” Central Illinois Public Serv. Co., 435 U.S. at 31-

32 (citations omitted). The Court further noted that Congress

could certainly expand the definition of wages for withholding,

but “[i]t has not done so as yet. And we cannot justify the

Government’s attempt to do so by judicial determination.” Id. at

33. 

Plaintiffs also point to a more recent United States Claims

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Court case, General Elevator Corp. v. United States, 20 Cl. Ct.

345 (1990). That case considered a different question about the

definition of “wages” subject to withholding and concluded, based

on Central Illinois, that the employer must have “adequate

notice” and did not in that case: 

The “deputy tax collector,” the employer, must have

adequate notice so that it will “know what the IRS

thinks the law is and therefore what actions they have

to take.” Central Illinois Public Service Co. v.

United States, 435 U.S. 21, 31-32, 98 S.Ct. 917,

922-23, 55 L.Ed.2d 82 (1978); McGraw Hill, Inc. v.

United States, 623 F.2d 700, 224 Ct.Cl. 354, 364

(1980). The facts in this case do not establish a

precise and clear duty to withhold. A careful review

of all of the revenue rulings which defendant cites as

having provided adequate notice to plaintiff of its

obligation to withhold from per diem payments clearly

shows that none specifically apply to the circumstances

respecting plaintiff's per diem arrangement.

Gen. Elevator Corp. v. United States, 20 Cl. Ct. 345, 353 (1990). 

While the parties may dispute exactly what amount of notice

the IRS must provide to employers with secondary liability for

collecting taxes, since notice is an issue in this case,

Plaintiffs are entitled to discovery about it. The United States

seeks to limit discovery on this issue to “1) what the IRS has

said publicly on the matter; and 2) what the Plaintiff knew or

should have known with respect to what the IRS has said publicly

on the matter.” (Doc. 49 at 7). However, even the United

States’ interpretation of Central Illinois goes beyond public

statements. The United States argues that the holding of Central

Illinois “squarely puts the inquiry as to whether there is an

obligation to collect on the reasonableness of the collector’s

actions.” (Doc. 49 at 7). To the extent that the IRS engaged in

internal deliberations regarding whether public notice had been

given and whether Plaintiffs or other similarly situated

companies had sufficient guidance, those deliberations are

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relevant to whether Plaintiffs were acting reasonably. 

Accordingly, Plaintiffs are correct that some internal

deliberations will be relevant to this theory. 

Even if that information is relevant, the United States,

citing Flamingo Fishing Corp. v. United States, 31 Fed. Cl. 655,

658 (Fed. Cl. 1994), argues that the opinions and reasoning of

government officials are not subject to discovery. The court in

that case did make broad pronouncements about the discoverability

and relevance of opinions of government officials, but its

holding is much narrower. The defendant argued that the opinion

of the government officials was irrelevant to “whatever ‘notice’

the plaintiffs themselves may ... or may not have received,” but

the plaintiffs themselves did not argue the notice issue, instead

asserting “that the questions [posed in discovery] will lead to

evidence that the definition of [one term in the Internal Revenue

Code] is ambiguous and was applied inconsistently by the agents.” 

Id. Accordingly, the court addressed whether the government

official’s opinions were relevant to the court’s de novo

interpretation of the Internal Revenue Code and not whether the

government officials could testify to any facts relevant to

whether plaintiffs were given adequate notice of taxes they were

to collect. Id. 

There is limited guidance for the Court as to what discovery

is relevant to whether Plaintiffs reasonably should have known

what taxes they were to collect. However, because internal IRS

deliberations would inform the question of whether Plaintiffs’

actions were reasonable in light of the published guidance and

absent evidence that permitting such discovery would be unduly

duplicative, burdensome, or privileged the Court determines that

those deliberations are within the proper scope of discovery. 

Plaintiffs’ third theory – that the IRS cannot apply this

tax to Plaintiffs because it violated its duty to treat similar

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taxpayers in a consistent manner – is a disparate treatment

argument. This theory turns on a duty articulated in, among

other cases, Sherwin-Williams Co. v. United States, 403 F.3d 793,

797 (6th Cir. 2005) (“As a general matter, similarly situated

taxpayers should not be treated differently”). The United States

asserts, without any support, that such a duty does not create in

a taxpayer a right to escape its tax liability. The reported and

unreported decisions on this issue show significant disagreement

about whether the violation of the IRS’s duty to treat similar

taxpayers in a consistent manner can be an affirmative defense to

an otherwise proper tax liability. See e.g., Steve R. Johnson,

An IRS Duty of Consistency: The Failure of Common Law Making and

A Proposed Legislative Solution, 77 Tenn. L. Rev. 563, 567 (2010)

(“Unfortunately, the result of common law making has been

doctrinal chaos”). In light of the varied court responses, it

makes sense to look to the most recent Court of Appeals decision

discussing the issue. The Sherwin-Williams decision, while

holding that the disparate treatment argument lacked merit

because the plaintiff failed to prove disparate treatment,

implied that such an argument could be meritorious with the right

evidence. Accordingly, the Court finds that this is the most

reliable indicator of the direction this Circuit is heading, and

the Court deems discovery as to this theory to be relevant. 

The United States also points to Vons Companies, Inc. v.

United States, 51 Fed. Cl. 1, 12 (Fed. Cl. 2001) modified,

00-234T, 2001 WL 1555306 (Fed. Cl. Nov. 30, 2001), to support its

argument that discovery about disparate treatment is not

appropriate here. However, the Vons case was a de novo

proceeding, which made internal IRS deliberations irrelevant. 

Id. at *5-6. 

Additionally, the United States argues that there can be no

disparate treatment when inconsistent treatment of competitors

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was isolated and erroneous. Whether the treatment of Plaintiffs’

competitors was isolated and erroneous is a question of fact,

however, and discovery is appropriate on such issues. 

Lastly, the United States raises arguments regarding the

protections of 26 U.S.C. §6103(a). However, those do not involve

the relevance of the discovery and are more in line with

questions of privilege. In the context of Plaintiffs’ motion to

compel production of documents, Plaintiffs do not contest the

right of the United States to withhold documents that would

violate section 6103(a). In their reply brief, Plaintiffs argue

that they cannot “assess the propriety of Defendant’s reliance on

section 6103 at this point because they do not know the specific

documents and information for which Defendant will assert

confidentiality under that statute.” (Doc. 55 at 17). 

Accordingly, there is no substantive discussion of the limits of

section 6103(a) in the context of Plaintiffs’ motion to compel

document requests. In the context of Plaintiffs’ motion to

compel depositions and the United States’ motion for a protective

order, the United States argues that Plaintiffs intend to seek

certain information from the proposed deponents that is protected

by section 6103(a). Accordingly, the protections of section

6103(a) will be discussed in the context of the motions regarding

the depositions. 

As to Plaintiffs’ fourth theory – that the IRS is legally

bound by a TAM it issued to Plaintiffs’ predecessor – the United

States has raised different questions in each motion, most of

which do not relate to relevance. Accordingly, those questions

are addressed in connection with Plaintiffs’ specific written

discovery requests and proposed depositions. 

B. Motion to Compel Production of Documents

Plaintiffs’ motion to compel seeks two categories of

documents: (1) documents that the United States agreed to produce

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but failed to produce, and (2) documents that the United States

refused to produce in whole or part. 

Plaintiffs initially identify the documents that the United

States agreed to but failed to produce as documents responsive to

Request Numbers 3, 7, and 10. Those requests seek “all IRS files

and other documents that relate to the application of the Section

4261 Tax to any fractional aircraft management program . . .”;

“all documents containing or relating to IRS analyses,

evaluations, assessments, deliberations or determinations

regarding the Section 4261 Tax and fractional aircraft management

companies”; and “all documents reflecting or relating to

analyses, evaluations, discussions or deliberations regarding the

decisions of the Court of Federal Claims or the Federal Circuit

in Executive Jet Case.” (Doc. 45, Exh. 2). The United States

does not dispute that it has agreed to produce the non-privileged

materials “related to the tax assessments at issue in this case.” 

(Doc. 49 at 11). The United States further acknowledged that it

has not produced all such documents and hoped to produce them by

the end of February, which has now passed. (Doc. 49 at 11-12). 

To the extent that the United States has not produced such

documents, it will be ordered to do so within 14 days of the date

of this Order. 

As a result of the briefing of this issue, the parties

appear to be in agreement that the United States will produce

non-privileged documents responsive to Request Number 1 to the

extent that such documents exist. (Doc. 49 at 12; Doc. 55 at

14). To the extent that the United States has not already

produced such documents, it will be ordered to do so within 14

days of the date of this Order. 

Also as a result of the briefing on this issue, the parties

appear to be in substantial agreement as to Request Number 22,

which seeks all “pleadings, motions, memoranda, briefs,

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deposition transcripts, hearing transcripts, stipulations, briefs

and other court-filed documents from the Executive Jet Case.” 

The United States originally agreed to produce any “publiclyfiled” materials from the Executive Jet Case that it was able to

locate, subject to privilege and the protective order entered in

that case. Plaintiffs argued that the production should not be

limited to “publicly-filed” materials and that the protective

order should not prevent disclosure to Plaintiffs because they

are successors of the plaintiff in the Executive Jet Case. In

responding to Plaintiffs’ motion, the United States agreed that

it would produce non-privileged responsive documents, whether

publicly filed or not, once it had more specific information

about how the Plaintiffs are successors to the entity involved in

the Executive Jet Case. It is not this Court’s job to spell out

for the parties the specific steps needed to resolve any

remaining questions about the Plaintiffs’ succession from the

plaintiff in the Executive Jet Case. However, the Court is

confident that the parties can resolve that issue within ample

time for the United States to produce non-privileged, responsive

documents within 30 days of the date of this Order. The United

States represented that it was told that there were two boxes of

materials but that it only received one box of materials. To the

extent that the United States has not located the second box of

materials when it produces documents responsive to this request,

it shall provide to Plaintiffs an explanation of the steps it has

taken to try to locate that second box of materials. 

The parties dispute the relevance of several other requests. 

First Request Number 8 seeks documents relating to IRS analyses,

evaluations, assessments, deliberations, or determinations

regarding the Section 4161 tax and whole aircraft management

companies. The United States has argued that this request is not

relevant. Plaintiffs respond that it is relevant to their second

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and third theories. The Court agrees that this request is

relevant to Plaintiffs’ second and third theories, and that the

United States should produce documents that are responsive to

this request to the extent that the information is not protected

from disclosure under 26 U.S.C. §6103 or otherwise privileged. 

Request Numbers 12 and 13 seek documents relating to the

IRS’s determination that the section 4261 tax applies to monthly

management fees and fuel variable surcharge fees charged by

NetJets. The United States responded that it would produce a

subset of responsive documents – specifically the IRS examination

files for the time periods and taxpayers involved in this

lawsuit. Plaintiffs ask for all responsive documents and not

just the IRS examination files, arguing that the internal IRS

documents relating to this request are relevant to Plaintiffs’

second and third theories. Plaintiffs do not specifically argue

that either the time period limitation or the limitation to

certain taxpayers proposed by the United States are

inappropriate. The Court agrees that documents beyond just the

IRS examination files are relevant here. The United States

should produce documents that are responsive to these requests

for the time periods and taxpayers involved in this litigation to

the extent that the information is not protected from disclosure

under 26 U.S.C. §6103 or otherwise privileged. 

Request Number 16 seeks communications regarding the section

4261 tax and its application to fractional aircraft management

companies. The United States agreed to produce non-privileged

portions of emails generated and saved by three IRS employees. 

(The United States noted that it used the term privilege to

include the protections of 26 U.S.C. §6103). The United States

argued that any other documents were irrelevant and unduly

burdensome, although it has provided no evidence or explanation

of the burden that searching more broadly would entail. The

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Court agrees that documents beyond just the emails “generated and

saved” by the three IRS employees the United States suggested are

relevant to Plaintiffs’ second and third theories. The United

States should search the email accounts of all IRS employees and

former employees who were involved in matters relating to the

application of the section 4261 tax to fractional aircraft

management companies and should produce documents that are

responsive to Request Number 16 to the extent that the

information is not protected from disclosure under 26 U.S.C.

§6103 or otherwise privileged. The Court sees no reason that the

emails would have to be “generated” by the person whose email

account is being searched in order to be relevant. 

Request Numbers 11 and 17 sought all documents relating to

the IRS’s decision to apply the section 4261 tax to Executive Jet

Management, Inc. and all communications regarding the section

4261 tax and its application to whole aircraft management

companies (including Executive Jet Management, Inc.). As with

Request Numbers 12 and 13, the United States responded that it

would produce a subset of responsive documents – specifically the

IRS examination files for Executive Jet Management, Inc. for the

time periods involved in this lawsuit. Plaintiffs ask for all

responsive documents and not just the IRS examination files,

arguing that the internal IRS documents relating to this request

are relevant to Plaintiffs’ second and third theories. 

Plaintiffs do not specifically argue that either the time period

limitation or the limitation to Executive Jet Management, Inc.

proposed by the United States are inappropriate. The Court

agrees that documents beyond just the IRS examination files are

relevant here. The United States should produce documents

relating to Executive Jet Management, Inc. that are responsive to

these requests for the time periods involved in this litigation

to the extent that the information is not protected from

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disclosure under 26 U.S.C. §6103 or otherwise privileged. 

Because Plaintiffs did not raise the issue of whether

Defendants should be required to provide a privilege log with

respect to any documents withheld under 26 U.S.C. §6103 in their

motion and only raised it in their reply brief, the United States

has not had an opportunity to brief that issue, and that issue is

not properly before the Court at this time. 

C. Motion to Compel Depositions and Motion for Protective Order

Plaintiffs noticed the depositions of seven IRS employees or

former employees whom the United States refused to make available

for deposition. Plaintiffs moved to compel the depositions, and

the United States has opposed the motion to compel depositions

and has filed a motion for a protective order to quash the

deposition notices of six of the seven IRS current or former

employees. 

The United States first argued that six of the seven

proposed deponents were “not in a position to have knowledge of

any facts that would tend to show that any question of fact in

issue in this case is more or less probable than it would be

without the evidence and they were not in a position to have any

evidence that is reasonably calculated to lead to any such

facts.” (Doc. 50 at 1-2). However, that argument was based on

the first of Plaintiffs’ legal theories. As discussed above in

section A, Plaintiff has four theories, and Plaintiffs are

correct that those theories broaden the scope of discovery beyond

what would be relevant if this were merely a de novo legal

interpretation of the statute. 

Plaintiffs’ second theory regarding whether they had

sufficient notice of the taxes they were to collect makes certain

internal communications relevant. For instance, communications

regarding whether public notice was given and whether Plaintiffs

or other similarly situated companies had sufficient guidance are

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relevant for discovery purposes. To the extent that the proposed

deponents can testify to communications regarding the notice that

companies like Plaintiffs had regarding the application of the

§4261 tax to fractional ownership aircraft programs and whole

aircraft management programs and whether any notice or guidance

provided to the industry was clear, that testimony is relevant

here. While the United States has asserted that certain

deponents would have no discoverable information, it has not

provided any evidence to indicate that any of the seven potential

deponents would be without any knowledge regarding this topic. 

Plaintiffs’ third theory regarding disparate treatment makes

discovery regarding treatment of similar taxpayers relevant. 

However, the United States has argued that all questions relating

to the treatment of similar taxpayers will be precluded by 26

U.S.C. §6103. Section 6103(a) provides generally that returns

and return information shall be confidential and precludes

present and former officers and employees of the United States

(as well as others) from disclosing any returns or return

information obtained in connection with his or her employment. 

26 U.S.C. §6103(a). Section 6103(b) defines “return information”

to include, among other items, a taxpayer’s identity, information

about his or her income, tax liability, tax payments, etc., and

“any other data, received by, recorded by, prepared by, furnished

to, or collected by the Secretary with respect to a return or

with respect to the determination of the existence, or possible

existence, of liability (or the amount thereof) of any person

under this title for any tax, penalty, interest, fine,

forfeiture, or other imposition, or offense.” 26 U.S.C.

§6103(b). Section 6103(c) provides that returns and return

information may be disclosed in certain circumstances where the

taxpayer has consented in writing to the disclosure. Plaintiffs

argue that it is premature to make any determinations as to the

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applicability of section 6103 because those determinations

necessarily depend on the nature of the specific questions asked

at the depositions, and Plaintiffs also argue that they may

obtain section 6103 waivers from other aircraft management

companies. 

The Court agrees with Plaintiffs that, as a general matter,

assertions of privilege are best addressed in connection with

specific deposition questions. See, e.g., United States v.

Hodgson, 492 F.2d 1175, 1177 (10th Cir. 1974) (holding that

assertions of privilege must normally be raised “as to each

record sought and each question asked so that ... the court can

rule with specificity”); Matter of Walsh, 623 F.2d 489, 493 (7th

Cir. 1980) (citing Hodgson); E.E.O.C. v. Kaplan Higher Educ.

Corp., 1:10 CV 2882, 2011 WL 2115878, *3 (N.D. Ohio May 27, 2011)

(holding that it would be premature to rule on assertions of

privilege prior to a deposition and citing Hodgson). In light of

the reluctance of courts to rule on general assertions of

privilege and in light of the absence of evidence regarding the

specific knowledge and likely testimony of the potential

deponents here, it is premature to rule on the applicability of

section 6103 to the proposed deponents as a general matter. In

addition, the United States has provided no evidence that the

proposed deponents lack knowledge of information relevant to

Plaintiffs’ third theory.

Plaintiffs’ fourth theory – that the IRS is legally bound by

a TAM it issued to Plaintiffs’ predecessor – overlaps to some

degree with Plaintiffs’ second theory as far as discovery is

concerned. Plaintiffs argue that testimony regarding the 1992

TAM and the subsequent Executive Jet litigation is relevant to

this theory, but they do not explain what type of testimony would

be relevant. The United States’ argument regarding this theory

is primarily directed at the content of the TAM and to what

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extent it is binding – arguing that because the TAM does not have

the effect that Plaintiffs argue it does, “there is no testimony

that can be offered by IRS employees that would be admissible as

relevant or could lead to the discovery of admissible evidence in

this case.” (Doc. 59 at 13). The Court does not have enough

evidence at this time to determine what testimony, if any, would

be relevant to this theory. 

Plaintiffs’ second and third theories involve questions of

fact that the potential deponents may be able to answer, and the

United States has failed to demonstrate good cause to issue a

protective order on the basis that any of the deponents were not

in a position to have knowledge of any facts that would tend to

show that any question of fact in issue in this case is more or

less probable than it would be without the evidence. 

The United States next argued that Plaintiffs failed to

comply with Department of Treasury regulations that govern the

disclosure of official information by IRS employees in light of

the Court’s ruling in United States ex rel Touhy v. Ragen, 340

U.S. 462, 467-69 (1951). The United States contends that the

Department of Treasury regulations, 26 C.F.R. §301.9000-1 through

7, preclude the disclosure of information by a current or former

Treasury Department employee without prior approval of the

Commissioner of Internal Revenue or the appropriate delegate. 

However, Touhy does not apply to litigation in which the

United States is a party. See Alexander v. F.B.I., 186 F.R.D.

66, 70 (D.D.C. 1998) (citing State of Louisiana v. Sparks, 978

F.2d 226, 234 (5th Cir. 1992) & Boron Oil Co. v. Downie, 873 F.2d

67 (4th Cir. 1989)). The reasoning for this distinction is

articulated by the court in Alexander v. FBI, 186 F.R.D. at 70-

71:

When the United States is a party to litigation,

“judicial control over the evidence in a case cannot be

abdicated to the caprice of executive officers.” 

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United States v. Reynolds, 345 U.S. 1, 9–10, 73 S.Ct.

528, 97 L.Ed. 727 (1953). This would create a

significant separation of powers problem. See

Committee for Nuclear Responsibility, Inc. v. Seaborg,

463 F.2d 788, 793–94 (D.C. Cir. 1971) (“[N]o executive

official or agency can be given absolute authority to

determine what documents in his possession may be

considered by the court in its task.”). Similarly, as

the court stated in EEOC v. Los Alamos Constructors,

Inc., 382 F.Supp. 1373, 1375 (D.N.M. 1974), “[w]hen the

government or one of its agencies comes into court ...

it is to be treated in exactly the same way as any

other litigant. Appointment to office does not confer

upon a bureaucrat the right to decide the rules of the

game applicable to his crusades or his lawsuits.”

Id. 

As a result, various courts have found Touhy regulations to

be without force and effect where such regulations conflict with

the court’s authority as set forth in the Federal Rules of

Evidence and the Rules of the Court. See, e.g., Res.

Investments, Inc. v. United States, 93 Fed. Cl. 373, 380-81 (Fed.

Cl. 2010) (noting that “[w]ith near unanimity, however, those

courts considering the issue have concluded that, when the United

States is a party to the litigation, the reach of

disclosure-limiting Touhy regulations ends at the courthouse

doors” (citing numerous cases) and holding “[t]herefore, the

court concludes that these regulations, which are clearly in

conflict with the court's authority as set forth in the Federal

Rules of Evidence and the Rules of the Court, can have no force

or effect.”); see also Romero v. United States, 153 F.R.D. 649,

652 (D. Colo. 1994) (“Once [the expert witness] is called, then

the Federal Rules of Evidence control his testimony, not

administrative regulations promulgated by the Department of the

Army. . . . the Federal Rules of Evidence will override such

regulation, as Federal Rules of Evidence have been approved,

implicitly or tacitly, by Congress” and “it simply makes no sense

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that a party [the federal government] would be allowed to

determine whom the other side may endorse as a witness”). 

Here, the United States has argued that Plaintiffs cannot

obtain a testimony authorization as to six of the deponents based

on its determination that the topics are not relevant, and argues

that without that testimony authorization the Court must issue a

protective order. However, the United States is a party, so

although the Treasury Department regulations do contemplate that

in this situation Plaintiffs would be required to obtain a

testimony authorization and Plaintiffs’ testimony authorization

was denied here, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure direct the

Court to determine the scope of discovery. As discussed above,

the discovery sought in these depositions is relevant to

Plaintiffs’ claims and discoverable to the extent that it is not

protected by privilege. Accordingly, the Touhy regulations at

issue here do not support the United States’ motion for a

protective order. 

Lastly, the United States argues that the deposition topics

identified by Plaintiffs seek information that is protected from

disclosure by 26 U.S.C. §6103 or shielded from discovery by the

deliberative-process privilege, the attorney-client privilege or

the work-product doctrine. As discussed above with respect to

whether section 6103 protects information relevant to Plaintiffs’

third theory, courts often wait to decide issues of privilege

until they have specific questions or facts before them. Doing

so makes sense with the attorney-client privilege, which does not

protect every communication between attorneys and clients but

only those “(1) Where legal advice of any kind is sought (2) from

a professional legal adviser in his capacity as such, (3) . . .

relating to that purpose, (4) made in confidence (5) by the

client, . . . (8) unless the protection is waived.” Reed v.

Baxter, 134 F.3d 351, 355-56 (6th Cir. 1998). Similarly, the

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work product doctrine does not protect every document that an

attorney has written or received, but rather “any document

prepared in anticipation of litigation by or for the attorney.” 

In re Antitrust Grand Jury, 805 F.2d 155, 163 (6th Cir. 1986)

(citation omitted). Accordingly, the applicability of these

privileges will depend upon the context and purpose of the

specific documents and communications being sought. The same

holds true for the deliberative process privilege. 

 As with the other protections, the deliberative process

privilege is difficult to determine in the abstract. The

deliberative process privilege protects certain intra-agency

deliberations involving a then-upcoming decision by the agency: 

The most frequent form of executive privilege raised in

the judicial arena is the deliberative process

privilege; it allows the government to withhold

documents and other materials that would reveal

“advisory opinions, recommendations and deliberations

comprising part of a process by which governmental

decisions and policies are formulated.” [Citations

omitted.] Although this privilege is most commonly

encountered in Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”)

litigation, it originated as a common law privilege.

[Citations and footnote omitted.] Two requirements are

essential to the deliberative process privilege: the

material must be predecisional and it must be

deliberative. [Citations omitted.] Both requirements

stem from the privilege's “ultimate purpose[, which]

... is to prevent injury to the quality of agency

decisions” by allowing government officials freedom to

debate alternative approaches in private. [Citations

omitted.] 

In re Sealed Case, 121 F.3d 729, 737 (D.C. Cir. 1997) (citations

omitted). The D.C. Circuit Court went on to note, “[t]he

deliberative process privilege does not shield documents that

simply state or explain a decision the government has already

made or protect material that is purely factual, unless the

material is so inextricably intertwined with the deliberative

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sections of documents that its disclosure would inevitably reveal

the government's deliberations.” Id. at 737 (citations omitted). 

Finally, the D.C. Circuit Court stated, “[t]he deliberative

process privilege is a qualified privilege and can be overcome by

a sufficient showing of need.” Id. at 717 (footnote omitted). 

Parties can assert the various privileges and section 6103

protections during the course of the depositions, at which time

there will be concrete questions before the parties or the Court. 

In light of the representations the United States has made

regarding the potential deponents, Plaintiffs may be well advised

to consider what testimony they may elicit from certain deponents

that would not be protected by section 6103 or protected by some

other privilege to determine whether certain depositions might be

fruitless. That is not a criticism of Plaintiffs, however, as

the Court also notes that the United States did not communicate

with Plaintiffs regarding privilege or the relevant knowledge of

particular deponents until the briefing for these motions. 

Accordingly, the United States has failed to demonstrate

good cause for issuing a protective order, and Plaintiffs have

demonstrated that Defendants refused to make the deponents at

issue available. Therefore, Plaintiffs’ motion to compel

depositions will be granted and the United States’ motion for a

protective order will be denied. 

D. Motions for Enlargement of Time

The United States moved for an enlargement of time to

complete discovery by the end of April and to file motions for

summary judgment by May 23, 2014. In mid-April, when the first

motion had not been decided, the United States filed an

additional motion for an enlargement of time seeking to extend

the close of discovery until 60 days after the Court rules on

this motion, and the deadline for motions for summary judgment

until 90 days after the Court rules on this motion. 

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The United States argues that Plaintiffs took approximately

six months to respond to their document requests, resulting in

the documents being produced about two weeks before the close of

discovery. However, the United States acknowledges that upon

receiving the document requests, Plaintiffs informed the United

States that they needed a protective order prior to the

production of documents, and Plaintiffs provided a draft

protective order a month after the discovery requests were

served. The United States did not respond to the proposed

protective order for over two-and-a-half months. The United

States argues that this was partially due to the government

shutdown. Regardless, the delay was in no way the fault of

Plaintiffs. The parties then took an additional two months to

reach an agreement and file a joint motion for entry of a

protective order. The Court granted the motion the next day, and

Plaintiffs produced the documents the day the motion was granted. 

There is no question that the United States contributed

substantially to the delay in completing discovery. However, one

goal of requiring parties to adhere to deadlines is to keep the

case moving along and prevent delay in the ultimate resolution of

the case. Here, the Court is granting additional discovery to

Plaintiffs, and as a result, discovery will be continuing for

several months. If the United States can complete discovery in

the same amount of time as Plaintiffs, it will not impede the

progress of this case. Accordingly, given the unusual

circumstances of this case, and for the purposes of completeness,

the Court will grant the United States’ motion for enlargement of

time. (Doc. 60). The Court recognizes that Plaintiffs have now

filed a summary judgment motion and argue that it would be unfair

to allow the United States to conduct discovery now that it has

seen Plaintiff’s arguments, but (1) the United States will still

have to respond timely to the motion unless it can establish the

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basis for an extension under Rule 56(d), and (2) Plaintiffs’

theories of the case were already disclosed in detail in their

discovery motion. Further, the Court’s goal in this case is to

make a decision based on all relevant facts, not to give one side

or the other a procedural advantage that might prevent relevant

facts from being presented to the Court. Consequently, the fact

that Plaintiffs have now moved for summary judgment does not

alter the Court’s decision. 

III. Conclusion

For the foregoing reasons, Plaintiffs’ Motion to Compel the

Production of Documents (Doc. 45) is granted as follows: 

1. To the extent that it has not done so already, the

United States shall, within 14 days of the date of this Order,

produce:

1.1 The documents it has agreed to produce in

response to Request Numbers 3, 7, and 10; 

1.2. Non-privileged documents responsive to Request

Number 1 to the extent that such documents exist; and

1.3 To the extent that it has not done so already,

the non-privileged documents responsive to Request Number 16 that

the United States represented that it has already located and for

which it has been conducting a privilege review. The United

States shall produce the remaining, non-privileged documents

responsive to Request Number 16 within 30 days of the date of

this Order.

2. To the extent that it has not done so already, the

United States shall produce the following documents or take the

following actions within 30 days of the date of this Order:

2.1 Non-privileged documents responsive to Request

Number 22; 

2.2 If the United States has not located the second

box of materials that it believed existed, an explanation of the

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steps it has taken to try to locate that second box of materials; 

 2.3 Non-privileged documents responsive to Request

Number 8;

2.4 Non-privileged documents responsive to Request

Numbers 12 and 13 for the time periods and taxpayers involved in

this litigation; and 

2.5 Non-privileged documents relating to Executive Jet

Management, Inc. that are responsive to Request Numbers 11 and 17

for the time periods involved in this litigation. 

All of the requests described above are from Plaintiffs’

First Request for Production of Documents. This order shall not

be interpreted to require the United States to produce documents

in violation of 26 U.S.C. §6103.

Also for the foregoing reasons, Plaintiffs’ Motion to Compel

Depositions (Doc. 46) is granted as to the depositions of the

United States’ employees. The United States’ Motion for the

Entry of a Protective Order (Doc. 51) is denied as to all

potential deponents. 

Finally, the United States’ Motion for an Enlargement of

Time to Complete Discovery and to File Motions for Summary

Judgment (Doc. 60) is granted, and the earlier motion by the same

name (Doc. 48) is denied as moot. All discovery shall be

completed within 60 days of the date of this order, and any

additional dispositive motions shall be filed within 90 days of

the date of this order. The pending motion for summary judgment

shall be briefed in accordance with the Court’s Local Civil Rules

unless that time is extended based upon either the filing of a

meritorious motion under Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(d) or other good cause

for an extension. 

IV. Procedure for Reconsideration

Any party may, within fourteen days after this Order is

filed, file and serve on the opposing party a motion for

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reconsideration by a District Judge. 28 U.S.C. §636(b)(1)(A),

Rule 72(a), Fed. R. Civ. P.; Eastern Division Order No. 91-3, pt.

I., F., 5. The motion must specifically designate the order or

part in question and the basis for any objection. Responses to

objections are due fourteen days after objections are filed and

replies by the objecting party are due seven days thereafter. 

The District Judge, upon consideration of the motion, shall set

aside any part of this Order found to be clearly erroneous or

contrary to law.

This order is in full force and effect, notwithstanding the

filing of any objections, unless stayed by the Magistrate Judge

or District Judge. S.D. Ohio L.R. 72.4. 

/s/ Terence P. Kemp 

United States Magistrate Judge

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